NIKA WAS HAPPY. Our bond wasn’t an empathic link, like the bond with her brother had been before her conversion had broken it, but some things I didn’t need to feel to know. Her smile told me everything. She was satisfied—with me, and with her life.
I was finally feeling content myself. I’d accepted what I was, and accepted my new family. I’d fought for them, protected them, and was continuing to protect them. The meeting tonight was just one more step in the road to keeping my family safe. And I’d do anything to keep my family safe. Anything.
Holding Nika’s hand, I walked at a human pace with her back to her father’s home. I hated that she was living in a hovel under the two-story dwelling, but I also understood and respected Teren’s desire to keep his teenage daughter under his roof for as long as possible. I’d probably feel the same way if I was her father. But I wasn’t. I was her boyfriend and her sire, and being separated from her was frustrating. Especially with how explosive our reunions were.
If we were just allowed to be together all the time, moments like tonight wouldn’t happen. The bond-driven desire wasn’t all bad, the intensity of it was really, really nice, but it wasn’t appropriate. And it certainly wasn’t private. Someone was always around whenever we came together, ready to bust us apart. It made me shudder to think what might happen if someone wasn’t nearby to separate us. Nika and I could easily end up in a compromising position in a very public place if we weren’t careful. Just another reason for us to live together.
Studying the cracks in the sidewalk as they passed underneath my feet, I considered just how public that little moment had been. Stifling a sigh, I glanced over my shoulder at Teren walking behind us. He still looked embarrassed over his earlier comment about women needing protection, but that didn’t stop him from watching me like a hawk. I should talk to him again about Nika staying with me at the ranch. I would even promise not to touch her until her eighteenth birthday, if that would make him feel better. Refocusing on the path in front of me, I vowed to do just that. I’d promise him abstinence in exchange for a chance to improve Nika’s life. And Nika wouldn’t like it, but I’d stick to that promise. It would be difficult, but we were already abstaining, so it wouldn’t be that much harder than it was now. And right now, turning Nika down had its moments.
We’d only caved and made love once when she was still alive, but that one time frequently ran through my mind, haunted my dreams. The softness of her skin, the taste of her lips, her moans in my ear, her blood in my throat…the memory of it all was almost too much to handle. It made me instantly want to be with her again. But she was adjusting to so much; I knew from experience how difficult the transition to a pureblood vampire was. I wanted to give her time before we took the relationship to that level again. Because once we did, I knew we’d never go back.
But I’d happily put sex on the back burner if it meant living with her. I’d tolerate almost anything to never be separated from her again. As for drinking from her again…well, that might be infinitely harder to resist. I’d wanted to bite her three times already, just this evening.
I sensed Halina sliding to my side before I saw her. Cool and sleek, her long hair dark as night, she had a Cheshire grin on her face as she walked beside me. “What?” I asked, already knowing the answer. She was amused by my relationship with Nika, and she was happy that I was finally a committed member of the nest. Much like Nika, Halina was content.
“Just noticing all the dirt on Nika’s back, is all.” Her smile changed to a lopsided grin. Frowning, I examined Nika’s shirt. Halina was right. There was even a stray piece of litter in Nika’s hair. Great.
I brushed off the debris and plucked out the bit of garbage while Halina laughed. “So,” she said. “Since you’re the commander of the Vampire Justice League, can we talk about your bodyguards? They’re driving me absolutely crazy.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Can you please stop calling it the Vampire Justice League? It’s starting to catch on. People won’t take us seriously if they think that’s really the name.” Halina had jokingly called the group that from nearly the beginning, but I’d heard others say it too. People were even shortening it to VJL.
While Halina chuckled at my response, Nika laid her head on my shoulder. It instantly distracted me from Halina. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
I shook my head, slightly bewildered. “I’m many things, but amazing is hardly one of them.”
I heard Teren clear his throat behind me, and I wasn’t sure if he was agreeing with my statement, voicing his displeasure that Nika was touching me in such an intimate way, or clearing his throat simply because he needed to clear his throat. Vampires got tickles, same as humans.
Nika lifted her head and gazed at me with clear adoration on her face. “I’m asleep for one day and you decide to change the world.”
I smirked at her assessment of what I’d done. “I wouldn’t say I’ve changed the world, just leveled the playing field, maybe. And it’s not amazing. I’m just doing what I can to right a wrong, protect the innocent. It’s all I’ve ever done.”
Halina leaned around me to look at Nika. “See. Vampire Justice League.” Nika laughed at her grandmother, and I smiled at both of the women in my life. When Halina brought her eyes back to mine, she asked, “So? Thing 1 and Thing 2? What can we do about them?” Her eyes narrowed to catlike slits. “Do I really need to get board approval to eat them now?”
I gave my creator a reproachful glance as we reached the Adams’ family home here in the city. “No, you may not eat Rory and Cleo.” I sighed as I stepped onto the porch. “They’re just trying to help.”
Halina snorted, her good mood twisting into annoyance. I understood the reaction. Rory and Cleo were two vampire hunters who had been in the first batch that I’d compelled to join us. Maybe I’d gone a little overboard with that original group, because they were both diehard fighters for the cause. And they took the job of protecting vampires, mainly me, a little too seriously. In fact, they would stay at the ranch with us if they could. They would probably stay in my bedroom with me if they could. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were moments away from showing up for guard duty—actually, I was a little surprised they weren’t already here.
Passing me to open the front door, Teren said, “They were here an hour ago. They wanted to wait on the steps, but I made them go to the meeting place to wait for you.” He held the door open along with an eyebrow; he was just as annoyed with the pair as Halina.
Nika walked through the door, pulling me through it after her. Just her stretching away from me caused a brief flutter of anxiety to flash through my body. That feeling amplified to near-painful levels the farther apart we were. When I met up with her in the entryway, I subconsciously melded into her side. “I’ll talk to both of them. Have them ease up on the security detail.”
Halina walked into the home, immediately striding to the living room. “Just compel them to leave you alone.”
I glanced at Nika, then we followed Halina. Nika’s brother was in the living room with Halina, giving her a warm hug. Julian Adams wasn’t my biggest fan, so he merely flicked his eyes in my direction in acknowledgment of my arrival. Fair enough. I couldn’t really blame him for his dislike. His sister was dead because of me. His home had been attacked, his family threatened. And from what Nika had told me, his girlfriend’s memory had been erased. All because of me. I wouldn’t like me either.
“We might need their help at some point. I’m not going to get rid of them, simply because they’re slightly annoying.”
Halina frowned at my comment. “Slightly?”
Ignoring her, I looked down at Nika. “Let’s get you fed.”
She grabbed her stomach in response, and I knew she was starving. I probably should have given her time to eat before rushing over here, but I couldn’t stop myself. Finding it funny to watch me squirm, Halina had amused herself by keeping me occupied after the sun went down. I’d blurred away as quick as I’d been able to though. Nika was an irresistible pull.
I escorted her into the kitchen where I could see that the meal had been interrupted. Several glasses of blood were steaming, mostly untouched, and Julian’s plate of food was still heaping. The rest of the family followed us into the room, Halina included. I pulled out Nika’s chair for her, which made Teren’s lips twitch into a ghost of a smile. His face immediately returned to impassiveness as he sat down across from us. While he watched every move I made, his wife poured a glass of blood for me and then a glass of blood for Nika; by the slight bloody smears I could see on the table, it was clear Nika’s original glass hadn’t survived our reunion.
“Thank you,” I told Emma, as she set our glasses down. She gave me a polite nod in return.
Nika immediately began chugging back her blood, her face a picture of contentment. I brought my glass to my lips and took a sip. The taste of the blood as it washed over my tongue and down my eager throat was indescribable. I’d never get over how the sweet, tang of fresh blood eased the aching that radiated from my stomach, up to my mouth. I’d never felt such discomfort as a human, even at my hungriest. And I’d never felt such joy when I soothed my parched mouth. Just the fact that I could willingly drink was a testament to how far I’d come. It wasn’t so long ago that just the thought would have had me feeling sick to my stomach. Now all I felt was…satisfied.
Halina watched me just as intently as Teren did, but for different reasons. She was making sure I was okay. She was watching for any lingering signs of depression. I smiled at her, lifting my glass. “Sit. Drink with us.”
Her serious expression lightened. I was fine, and she knew it. Smirking, she pointed to my glass. “No, thanks. I feel like fresh food tonight.”
I stiffened a bit in my chair as I lowered the glass from my mouth. I knew what she meant by that. “Halina, we’ve made it clear that murder is no longer considered acceptable, on either side. The panel will try you if you take a human life, and if they find you guilty of an unjustified murder…your life will be forfeit.”
I set the glass down harder than I’d planned; the blood in the cup rippled with vibrations, but the glass thankfully remained intact. Halina knew the rules, she’d helped me set them in place. The only way to make it fair for everyone was to make it strict. No vigilante killings. No vengeance deaths. Anyone who had issue with anyone else could bring it before the panel to discuss, but handling it themselves was discouraged. It would just lead to more potential justice murders and never-ending fighting between the species if we let either side continue to kill the other with no consequences. For peace to happen, order needed to happen too.
Halina frowned at my statement while the rest of the family grew silent. “I know that, Hunter. I have no plans to kill anyone. Just a nibble will do.” She shrugged, then pursed her lips. “Am I still allowed that tiny luxury?”
I relaxed back into my chair and reached underneath the table to squeeze Nika’s hand. “Of course. So long as it’s a small amount and they have no memory of the incident, it’s fine.”
Halina rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m glad I have the Vampire Justice League’s permission to eat.”
Having heard this before, I sighed. “Halina, you know it’s for our protection—”
She cut me off with a swish of her hand. “I know, I know. This is all just very different for me. I’m not used to…rules and regulations. Aside from my own, of course.”
She gave me a wink and I could only shake my head at her. My sire was a complex person—playful and passionate, aloof and fiercely protective. She always kept me on my toes. But her trepidation, resistance, and rebellion to the rules was what we were going to face with the other pureblood vampires. No creature that powerful liked to be told what to do. And unlike with the hunters, we couldn’t compel vampires. They had to be convinced it was in their best interest to play along.
Halina walked around the room, placing a kiss on Teren’s head, then Julian’s, then Nika’s. When she got to me, she kissed my cheek. “Stay safe. I’ll see you at the meeting.”
I nodded at her. “You too.”
When she left the room, my gaze drifted back to Nika. Her large brown eyes were locked onto mine. I knew it had to be weird for her to see how close I was to another woman. I felt bad about it, but she swore to me that she understood, and she wasn’t jealous. I hoped that was the case. Both women were important to me, but Nika was my life.
Without further incident, we dug into our meals. Julian fidgeted the entire time he ate. He wasn’t eating very fast either. He was mainly pushing the food around his plate with a scowl on his lips. I had no idea what his problem was, but every gulp of blood I swallowed, I wished he’d get over it and finish his meal already. The smell of his turkey was stomach-churning.
When Julian started tapping his fork against his plate, his eyes locked on Nika, I couldn’t help but think I was missing something. Looking around Nika, I asked him, “Something on your mind, Julian?”
Nika’s hand was still holding mine. She suddenly squeezed me so hard, I knew she was silently conveying some sort of message to me. I wasn’t sure what she was trying to say, but Shut up seemed to be the most likely sentence.
I sat back in my chair and didn’t ask any more questions. Julian mumbled, “No,” and went back to his meal. Teren and Emma looked between their children with suspicious eyes. Nika gave them a disarming smile, and even I knew something was definitely up.
Emma set her glass of blood down. “Nika, before we were…” her dark eyes glanced at me, “…interrupted, you said something about Ashley and your birthday?”
Nika worried her lip. For a second, how plump and inviting it was distracted me from the awkward look of uncertainty on her face. “Oh, yeah…I was just wondering—”
Interrupting her, Julian suddenly asked, “How come I never get to go to the meetings with you guys?”
Teren and Emma looked over at Julian. My eyes stayed on Nika, and I caught the brief moment of surprise on her face, followed by confusion, followed by blankness. It was pretty obvious to me that she was shocked Julian had changed the subject. So whatever was going on, it must revolve around Julian. She was trying to help him with something, and I had a pretty good idea of what—or who—he might want that Nika would do anything to help him with.
Teren scratched his jaw while he thought of how to answer his son. “Well, I guess because it’s potentially dangerous, and you’re still young.”
“Nika gets to go, so I don’t see why I can’t,” he muttered, jerking his thumb over at his sister.
Nika pursed her lips. “It’s not like it’s super exciting or anything. Just a group of people arguing about rules and regulations and the evils of compulsion.”
She rolled her eyes in annoyance and I had to agree with her. Bickering ran rampant at meetings. Every human there argued against the purebloods being allowed to compel people, but it was the only way to keep vampires hidden from society. Giving up the ability to trance people wasn’t an option. And besides, we’d never have persuaded the hunters to our side in the first place if we hadn’t “forced” them into cooperating with us, and the group recognized the importance of that step. Whether they liked it or not, they were already under the influence of our “evil” mind games.
Julian frowned at Nika while Teren told him, “She’s a pureblood now. She can take care of herself.” The expression on his face when he said it made me wonder if he was trying to make up for his earlier misstep about the female gender. I squeezed Nika’s fingers, torn by his comment. Sure, she was quite capable of taking care of herself, but I’d prefer it if she never had to.
A look of rebellious insolence crossed Julian’s young face. It reminded me of when Dad used to tell me something I didn’t want to hear. I smiled at the memory; we’d had some good showdowns over the years. The slight grin left me the minute I remembered that Dad was gone, and he was never coming back. He no longer knew me.
“I defended the ranch against a horde of hunters intent on killing every vampire they came across. I think I can handle a roomful of reformed hunters who have been compelled not to hurt me.” He crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin.
Teren sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Lifting a hand, he told him, “I really don’t have a good reason to keep you away. If it’s something you feel that strongly about, then yes, you can come. You can go tonight.”
A weird look passed over Julian’s face. It was a mixture of relief and reluctance, like he’d just won a battle he hadn’t actually wanted to fight. Very strange.
Later in the evening, the human warrior of the group, Ben, showed up with his wife, Tracey. Now that he was living in Salt Lake City, Ben usually attended the meetings. His wife had never been to one before, but she was going to check it out tonight. Tracey reminded me of a Chihuahua, but not because of her looks. The slender, blonde woman had bright blue eyes, a soft-looking smile, high cheekbones, and a perky nose that you wanted to press like a button. She still had a youthful attractiveness to her that made her seem younger than the age I knew her to be. The only similarity to the tiny dog was because of the way she slightly trembled whenever she was around me, the way the whites of her eyes doubled in size when she took me in. All I would have to do was drop my fangs with a mild look of interest on my face and she’d either pee her pants or bolt for the door. Maybe both.
She wasn’t comfortable with the idea of vampires. She trusted her friends, who were, in truth, only partial vampires, and she felt a little more comfortable around Nika, since she’d known her since birth. But me, a stranger to her, freaked her out. I made sure to move very slowly whenever she was around, so I wouldn’t spook her with any sudden movements.
With clocklike precision, I turned my head to face the middle-aged man who was Teren’s best friend. “As per usual, the meeting is at midnight.” Ben nodded, this wasn’t news to him. Midnight was decided as the official meet time, since that wasn’t too early for vampires or too late for humans. “The ex-hunters will go in first, and gather all the new hunters into the living room. Nika, Halina and I will enter the house next, and quickly subdue them. The rest of you can come in once it’s clear, then I’ll begin the process of converting them.” Ben nodded again. He really didn’t need me to tell him all of this, but I wasn’t really telling him for his benefit. I was speaking to Tracey, preparing her for what was to come, and speaking directly to her didn’t seem like the best idea.
Tracey whispered to Emma, “Subdue? Convert?”
I paused a moment to let Emma answer her friend. “Every time we convert a new hunter to our cause, we tell them to get as many of their friends here as they can, so they can be…persuaded. There used to be new hunters every night, but now it’s only a few times a week.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the horror on Tracey’s face. “You’re obliterating their free will.”
Clearly only wanting Emma to hear her, she spoke as softly as a gasp of breath. I heard her though, and couldn’t stop myself from replying. “We’re trying to stop murders, both human and vampire. We don’t have time to…convince...the age-old prejudice out of people.”
Tracey backed up a step when my eyes locked on hers. She bumped into Teren, startled, then took a sidestep to where no one was standing. Shaking like a leaf, her eyes swept the room. “So you’ve stopped the humans from killing…but what about the vampires? Have you compelled them?”
Her teeth rattled together and fear oozed from her like a heady perfume. I ignored her reaction to me, and spoke as softly and as gently as I could. “Vampires can’t be compelled. Actually, no one with vampire blood in their veins can be compelled.” I indicated Ben. “Your husband, for instance. And your daughter.”
Nika had told me about Ben’s distant vampire lineage. Ben had apparently never passed along the information though. Tracey’s jaw fell open as she stared at her husband. “You? You’re…? Olivia is…?”
Ben sighed and extended a hand to her. She didn’t take it. “I didn’t know. None of us knew. It’s something I just recently found out.” When Tracey still looked startled senseless, Ben added, “I don’t have any of the attributes. No fangs, no blood cravings. Nothing. I simply…can’t be tranced.” He shrugged, looking a little disappointed that he didn’t have any other special powers.
Teren smirked at him. “I still think your fighting skills are related to your blood. You’re not superhuman, but you’re better than most.”
Ben grinned at him. Tracey groaned. To complete my point, I told her, “Vampires aren’t inherently evil, and most don’t kill humans, same as most humans don’t kill humans. Hunters, on the other hand, kill. It’s in the job description.” A flash of melancholy went through me. I had innocent blood on my hands. A lot of innocent blood. It was just something I had to deal with. Like Nika could read my dark thoughts, she put her hand on my back, massaging away my emotional ache.
Tracey blinked then snapped her head to Emma, the one vampire she felt the most comfortable with. “I can’t do this, Em.”
Smiling, Emma calmly walked over and put an arm around her. “Yes, you can. You’re under my protection, no one will harm you.”
Tracey seemed minutely cheered by that fact. Ben frowned and twisted to Teren. “What am I? Chopped liver?” Teren laughed at his friend and clapped him on the back.
Still seeing that Tracey was bothered by me, I told Ben and Teren, “We’ll wait outside until it’s time to go.”
Teren glanced at me, then Nika beside me. His smile faded, but he nodded. “Don’t go far.”
I told him I wouldn’t, then clutched Nika’s hand and pulled her outside with me. Not surprisingly, Julian followed us. When we got to the porch, he sat on the step and twisted his hands in an obsessive-compulsive way. Curious, and feeling the need to chide him, I asked, “You, ah, don’t seem overly thrilled that you won the right to go to the meeting tonight. You do want to go, don’t you?”
Julian looked back at the window of his home, glowing with warmth. “Uh, sure, yeah, I want to go.” When he returned his eyes to mine, it was clear his answer was all for his parents’ ears, since they could hear everything we were saying.
Nika, not looking satisfied with his answer, grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet. Since she was so much stronger now, she ended up hurtling him down the steps. He stumbled on the sidewalk, but remained upright. He glared up at her. “What the hell, Nick?”
Nika put her finger against her lip, indicating silence, and then pointed down the street. Julian understood. Looking up at the front door, he informed his parents, “We’re going for a walk,” then blurred away before they could protest. Nika started to follow him, but stopped and held out her hand, waiting for me; our bond made going our separate ways difficult. Together, we sped off after Julian. I faintly heard Teren say, “Wait,” but we were gone before I heard the rest.
A couple of miles away, Nika shifted to a normal walk and I slowed down with her. I didn’t see Julian anywhere, but figured he was waiting nearby. I could picture him tapping his foot in irritation while he waited for us, but he’d have to wait. Nika seemed to want some alone time with me, and I wanted the same. The day had been too long. Wrapping my arm around her side, I inhaled her sweetness, then placed my lips upon her head. She sighed in contentment. We walked along for a few minutes in blessed silence, then the evening started replaying itself in my mind. Remembering Julian’s oddness, I murmured to Nika, “Your brother seems antsier than usual. He wants something. What is it?”
She looked up at me, surprised, but then her expression relaxed. Between his actions then and now, it was pretty obvious that Julian was up to something. She shrugged. “He wants what he always wants. Arianna back.”
I nodded, suspecting as much. Nika swung my hand as she looked at the beauty of the night all around us. Crickets chirped, faint heartbeats thudded in the distance, and the moon white-washed everything. It was spectacular…and yet it didn’t hold a candle to her.
Glancing up at me, she continued. “He’s thought up some elaborate plan to finally win her over, but it involves a massive high school party that my parents are never going to agree to.”
I thought about that for a second, and then suggested, “Maybe I could get your parents out of the house for a few hours? Help him out a bit.”
Nika paused in her steps. “You’d do that for him?”
I held her gaze, fighting back the guilt that was creeping up. “It’s kind of my fault they’re apart. I owe him one.” Nika gave me a light kiss on the lips in answer, and my momentary gloom vanished. She loved me. I could do anything with her by my side. Even get her mopey twin back together with the girlfriend who had no recollection of ever being his girlfriend.
Julian was waiting for us on a covered bus bench; his eyes were locked in our direction and his expression was annoyed. He appeared even more irritated when I sat down simultaneously with Nika. He obviously wanted to talk to her alone. A part of me wanted to let him have his privacy with his sister, but I just couldn’t leave her side yet. “Took you long enough,” he mused, glaring at me like it was my fault we’d taken so long to get to him. “I was sure Mom and Dad would come collect me before you two even got close.”
Blocking Julian’s view of me with her body, Nika ignored his sullen comment and asked, “What was that about, Julian? Why the heck were you fighting to go to a meeting? You’ve never cared about them before. And why did you change the subject? I was just about to ask them about the party. I thought that was what you wanted?”
Julian slumped back onto the bench, defeated. “I know, and I do. I just…I panicked. There’s no way they’re going to say yes, Nick. I wasn’t ready to hear them say no. This is my last shot with Arianna before the summer. She’ll forget all about me. She’ll move on. She’ll meet someone new. She might have already…”
Seeing the despair on his face, and knowing I had to do something to help lift it, I leaned forward and said, “I normally wouldn’t suggest this to a couple of underage teenagers, but what if you don’t ask them? What if you just have the party without their permission?”
Julian gave me a wry expression. “At the house? I think they’d notice that.”
I hid my smile. He had a point. An idea started forming, a way that I could kill two birds with one stone, and I stopped hiding my grin. “I’ll keep them occupied somewhere else. You’ll have the house all to yourself.”
“And how are you going to do that?” Julian asked. He seemed skeptical. So did Nika. They both knew their parents a lot better than I did, and they probably knew that the hope I was offering Julian was just as unlikely as the two of them getting their parents to say yes to a school-wide party. I was fairly certain I could do this though.
My smile widened. “I’ll think of something, don’t you worry.”
Nika and Julian were concerned about their parents getting antsy and coming to get them, so we leisurely headed back to the house. Halina caught up with us along the way. She was being flanked by Rory and Cleo, and seemed none too happy about it.
The pair of industrious hunters were keeping an eye on our surroundings as they walked behind her. They acted as if we were all about to be attacked at any moment. I didn’t sense any danger around us—no odd, out-of-place heartbeats, no foreign smell on the breeze. It was a calm, quiet, beautiful night.
Rory nodded his head at me when our two groups met up. Any day now, I expected him to start saluting. Thankfully, he wasn’t quite there yet. Rory was a brick wall of a man—6’5” and solid muscle. He was surprisingly quick for his size though, and agile too, with a liquidity to his movement that made him a formidable opponent. Even though I had an edge with my enhanced powers, I was grateful he was on our side, and I didn’t have to fight him.
Cleo was very much Rory’s opposite physically—slender, with long, lean muscles, and a dancer’s lithe, graceful body—but she was just as eager to serve me as her massive counterpart. The dark-skinned girl moved to stand in front of me. With her arms behind her back, she looked like a solider awaiting orders.
“Two new recruits are waiting at the house. Avery is with them. The others are waiting nearby and will enter the meeting place once you’ve had your say.” She smiled, showing a row of perfect, white teeth. “So as to not create suspicion with the newbies.”
I nodded, pleased that at least a couple of hunters would be converted tonight. Every new person we touched now was one less person we had to worry about later, and they were also a pipeline to more hunters. And getting new hunters to come to the meeting place to be compelled was of critical importance. Having the numbers was the key. If we had more people on our side than against us, then we stood an even better chance of truly making a difference.
Our slightly larger group finished walking back to Nika’s house to pick up the others, then we all started out together. Tracey had a death grip on Ben’s hand as he pulled her along. I made sure to walk as far from her as possible, but my sharp ears still heard her say, “Can’t we drive there? Just the two of us?”
Ben answered her with, “It really is faster to walk. And then the hunters won’t hear us coming.”
She swallowed, and her heartbeat quickened. “Why does it matter if they hear us coming? I thought this wasn’t dangerous.”
Turning my head, I answered her question. “The unconverted hunters are still dangerous. But they don’t expect to see a vampire tonight, let alone several, so we’ll be able to disarm them very quickly. You won’t be in harm’s way. One word from me will freeze them in their tracks.”
She only stared at me in response, so I turned away and let her dwell on that in silence. I supposed it was a lot to take in.
As always, Nika held my hand as she walked beside me. Julian kept pace alongside her. He seemed deep in thought. Whether that was about what we were doing or Arianna, I couldn’t say. My old home came upon us faster than my wandering mind expected it to. It was still a girly shade of pink, and was still mostly empty inside, although I had recovered my father’s and my stuff from storage. Soon after the very first meeting with hunters, I’d found the landlord and had him re-rent the house to me; I’d had to compel him to do it, since Dad and I had sort of trashed the place, then left in a hurry. Since I didn’t have a paying job, Halina and the others paid for it. I felt a little guilty about that, but I needed a neutral meeting place for this…and I just wasn’t ready to part with the last house where my father and I had lived as a family. A place that had started to feel like home to me, especially when I’d opened up and let Nika into it. I thought my life would change for the better when I’d moved here and met her. It hadn’t happened in quite the way I’d expected, but I’d been right—my life had changed for the better.
Being a pair of nonthreatening humans, Rory and Cleo entered first. They left the front door cracked open, and I could hear the sound of curt greetings from the living room. I paused on the doorstep with Nika. “Halina, Nika and I will go in next. The rest of you wait out here until I give the word.”
Like he always did whenever he came with, Teren stepped forward. “I’m going with you.”
Like I always did, I let him. Halina entered first, then me, with Nika and Teren a few steps behind us. We used to spread out and enter the house at different locations, but now that the compelled hunters were on hand to “herd” the new ones into one place, we didn’t worry so much about surrounding the enemy.
I wasn’t sure what vibe I gave off to humans that immediately alerted them to my otherness, but I wasn’t in the living room five seconds before the two new hunters were pulling guns on me. Maybe it was just due to the fact that they didn’t know me yet. Maybe Rory and Cleo had been greeted with a barrel in their face too, and it just hadn’t fazed them enough to say anything.
It took me one word to make them harmless. “Stop.” Neither man in the room so much as twitched. Voice gentle but firm, I commanded, “Lower your weapons.” Both guns slowly drifted to their sides. “Put the guns away. You will not harm anyone here tonight.” Both men complied, and tucked their guns back into their jackets. The sudden tension in the room began to dissolve as the threat was neutralized. Over my shoulder, I called out, “It’s safe, come on in.”
Ben came through the door first, followed by Tracey, Emma, and Julian. Tracey looked ill, Emma calm, and Julian curious. He’d never witnessed me compelling a group. I sort of wished there were more than two new hunters here now. It was much more impressive with six or seven.
While Ben rubbed Tracey’s back, he turned on her loud, rock music so she was immune to my compulsion. That had been Ben’s request; he wanted his wife to come to accept vampires naturally. Seeing they were ready for me to begin, I returned my attention to the hunters. They were still rigidly standing in place, eyes wide open, hearts pounding with adrenaline. I realized I’d disarmed them, told them they couldn’t hurt anyone, but had never assured them that they wouldn’t be harmed as well. I frowned. This wasn’t my first time, and I knew better than to leave them lingering in a fearful state. I wanted peace between the species, and to have that, I needed their innate sense of mistrust gone.
Holding a hand up, I told them both, “Please, sit, relax. No one here is going to harm you. We just want to talk. We want peace.”
One of the heartbeats started slowing as the man attached to it sat down. The other man didn’t move. His pale eyes flicked to his friend, and his heart started thudding in his chest. My frown deepened. This hadn’t ever happened before. If I told them to relax, they did. If I told them to sit, they did, without hesitation.
Stepping toward him, I again repeated, “Relax. Sit.”
The man’s jaw dropped as his breathing picked up. I could see beads of sweat forming on his brow, could feel the fear and tension emanating from him. Seeing that I wasn’t having any luck, Halina tried. “Sit, human.”
The hunter’s face slowly swiveled her way, and then he finally started sitting. I relaxed a bit, seeing that he was finally complying. Kind of odd that he hadn’t right away. He wasn’t wearing any protection from trancing. I should have had him from the first word.
Knowing she was probably a second away from bolting, I threw on a bright smile and twisted to Tracey standing next to Ben. “See, there’s no danger here.”
No sooner had I said that, then the man Halina had commanded to sit shot to his feet. I jerked my head around just in time to see his arm shoot out in my direction. From within the folds of his loose jacket, a sharp stake exploded into the air. Shock kept me frozen, staring at the projectile in disbelief. I compelled him to sit, not to harm anyone. He shouldn’t be able to do this.
Tracey screamed as the entire room burst into action. Nika shoved me back at the same time Halina blurred in front of me. I felt completely useless in my stunned state, but I snapped out of it the second Halina grabbed the wooden weapon out of the air; it was centimeters from burying itself into my chest.
Dropping my fangs, I growled at the man who’d just tried to kill me. Reason went out the window as I momentarily imagined ripping him limb from limb. I lunged at him, but he reached into his jacket pocket and blew something at me. A small cloud of grey dust drifted over Halina, Nika and me. Silver. It burned as I inhaled, and, crying out, I clawed at my face and throat. It was like someone had just sprayed me with acid. I hear Halina and Nika cry out in similar pain, saw both of them falling to their knees. I struggled to remain standing, to fight against the torture and defend the women I loved, but the burning sensation was too powerful. All I could do was drop to the floor and curl into a ball.
Amid the sounds of screaming, mine as well as others, I noticed that the compelled hunter was idly watching the deadly showdown; he wasn’t taking part in murdering us, but he wasn’t stopping it either. From the corner of my eye, I watched the free-minded hunter grab a stake from a strap at his waist. He raised it high, preparing himself for the death blow. The silver had made its way into my lungs at this point, and my stomach was clenching as I resisted the urge to upchuck blood. As my insides sizzled, I almost welcomed death.
With all the strength he possessed, the hunter brought his arms down toward my chest, since I was closest. I thanked whatever gods were listening that he was aiming for me and not Nika. Surely, one of the others would stop him before he could kill her.
Just as his momentum was past the point of no return, a body rammed into his stomach and knocked him to the ground. I tried to struggle through the pain to see what was happening, to maybe help in some way, but I lost control on my stomach and started heaving blood. After that, I didn’t care anymore.